Slow or no(t), Carol’s comment was illuminating. She clearly has her eyes on the early morning juggernaut that is demolishing CNN’s Early Start by more than 2 to 1 in the demo and 3 to 1 in total viewers. And, she herself has tried to emulate the Fox News foxes–without success.

At least, Carol has tried. Perhaps, Early Start co-host Zoraida Sambolin will follow suit. CNN desperately needs a sexy new start to boost its early morning ratings, especially, now that its erstwhile AM “ray of light” Kiran Chetry no longer ushers in the dawn.

Mid-show today, Dave promised Aly and his viewers something that he unfortunately could not deliver. As the second hour started, Aly said that she needed a “rewards system” to help her do the show: in response, Dave said, “Well, there’s cupcakes later.”* When a “surprised” Aly asked, “There’s cupcakes later?,” Dave confidently declared, “Cupcakes later. So, no problem. 9:50!”

When 9:43 a.m. ET arrived, Dave’s pledge seemed secure. As F&FW was about to go to commercial, the camera zoomed in on a goofing Goldman, who held up his white cupcake, fingered the icing, and then licked his digit with delight. As he did, Aly asserted, “And, he’s known for his crazy cake creations….Next up, Duff Goldman here to sweeten up our morning.”

In the next segment, Dave presided over a Media-Matters-versus-Fox-News story (with Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mindauthor Tim Groseclose). As that block ended, Dave teased, “Coming up, you know him as the “Ace of Cakes,” Food Network star Duff Goldman here next taking on the Big Apple. This ought to be delicious.” Ominously, the camera panned over a table with cooked cupcakes and icing tubes with chef Goldman nowhere in view.

When F&FW returned after the ad break, Clayton stated, “Welcome back to Fox & Friends.” Appearing rather irritated, he loudly tore his stapled green card (apparently, segment notes and questions) showily from his papers while both Aly and Dave grimaced. Then, as Dave and Aly looked on somewhat sheepishly, Clayton remarked, “Hey, kids out there, if you were tuning in because you wanted to see Duff Goldman from the Food Network. The Food Network here was going to be cooking up some, some different.” As a distracted Clayton seemed to be momentarily at a loss for words, Aly offered, “Cupcakes”: An appreciative, Clayton concluded, “Cupcakes and different things.”

Then, in what appeared to be an obvious diversion for the viewer from Goldman’s absence, Clayton muttered, “Um” as he reached toward his inner right coat pocket. As he did (even though Clayton’s voice was clearly audible), Dave queried, “Where’s you microphone?” Aly echoed, “Wait! What did you do with your microphone?” As Clayton pulled it from his pocket, Dave chuckled, “Let, let’s put that on before we address the audience.”

Feigning surprise seemingly, Aly stated, “Wow. You, you keep your microphone in your pocket….I never knew that.” After attaching it to his lapel, a grinning Clayton stroked it and jested, “I like to keep him warm. You okay, Buddy? You okay, Buddy?” As Aly chuckled, Dave commented, “It was the cupcakes that really rattled you.” Concurring, Aly added, “Yeah.”

Finally, returning to the matter at hand, Clayton quickly concluded, “Anyway, we had an issue: We had a baking snafu. And, we had some issues. So, you’re not going to be seeing that.” Shaking her head, Aly jested, “So, don’t sugarcoat it for us.” Beaming, Dave exhorted, “Yeah, don’t sugarcoat it.” But, apparently, Clayton had done just that.